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What is your gardening zone and where is Wesminster? I know a Westminster, CO but there are places with that name in many states.

I checked your profile but that information isn't listed which one really needs to know in terms of discussing seed starting times.

it also depends on if a person is using a good light setup or just natural sunlight as well as how old the seeds might be.

I'm in a 4b/5a gardening zone in upstate NY and would normally not be starting tomato seed until about April 1st with grow lights, which leaves about one week for hardening off and plans to plant outside around June 1st or so.

Reviewing my notes from last year, here in N VA I'll be starting my seeds March 1st and setting them out April 25th in SWC. Pushing for earlier set out didn't yield earlier tomatoes for me....just more work trying to keep the killing freezes from taking the plants. Looking forward to next year and wondering how to battle powdery mildew which I barely kept at bay until the heat and dry summer came.

For real? So you plant out the first or second of May? I would have thought our plant out dates would have been closer. I plan for the first week of April, but leave a little wiggle room in case we have a late freeze.

I'm north of BlueAussi by a quite a bit, my last frost is supposed to be Apr 7. This year I could've planted out the first of April if I'd had them hardened off. I started mid Feb this year, next year I'll be starting 1st of Feb for toms and basil, with egg plants end of Jan, and Peppers mid Jan.

By Feb 10th for me in 2010! With far fewer seedlings as I ran into a "cobbler's children have no shoes" situation with getting the last of mine planted the last week of may (up to her hips in maters of all sizes & shapes & colours now though LOL)

Bakersville, You may want to read about gardening zones. They do indicate frost dates not just winter temperatures. That is at least here on the planet Earth they do. Where are you from again??

Since when?

Sorry, I think the OP is being a little combative, but he is right that USDA Hardiness Zones are not the best tool for a vegetable gardener. USDA Hardiness Zones indicate the depth of winter cold to indicate the survivability of perennials. Take for example the fact that Houston and Seattle are in the same zone. I wouldn't think that vegetable gardening in Houston would be the same as vegetable gardening in Seattle.

As for tomato starting dates, I started mine about 8 weeks before the last frost date, with set out about a week after the last frost date. April 15 is our average last frost, so I started mine the middle of February and set them out about the third week of April.